Vlatitude: Clip Brush Tutorial Last edited 5 years ago2019-04-25 11:33:41 UTC

This tutorial explains the use and creation of Clip Brushes. Clip Brushes are vital in areas where the player can get "caught" on something in the level, such as a light fixture sticking out of the wall.

What is a clip brush?

A clip brush is a brush that has the clip texture on all sides of it. The clip brush blocks the player's movement and it is invisible in the game.

OK, so what do I use it for?

As I stated above, the clip brush is generally used to keep the player from getting "caught" on level architecture like a small light fixture on the wall, or any little detail on a wall. This is really important in multiplayer. It's really annoying when you're running down a hallway and then get stuck on a wall. Speaking of multiplayer maps, if you have a sky in your map, place clip brushes in front of it. That way a player can't gauss jump out of the level.

Another less documented use of a clip brush is with railings and gratings. You may have noticed that if you make a railing using a func_wall, that when you shoot it, it displays bullet holes and it looks really ugly. A way to solve this is to turn your railing into a func_illusionary and then place a clip brush overlapping the railing. You need the clip brush because the func_illusionary doesn't block player movement.

More on the clip brush

Here are a few pointers when using clip brushes:

• You shouldn't notice clip brushes. I once saw a level that was a maze. It was a big room and the maze walls were formed by clip brushes! Very annoying. Only make a level like that if you want people to not take your mapping skills seriously.
• Even though they are invisible, they do add to the game so use them sparingly. Now I don't mean that they'll make a big performance hit, just don't plaster the level with them.